Apple pledges to fix toxic products

Apple is suddenly keen to lose its label as the Britney “don’t cha know that it is toxic” Spears computing by removing two chemicals from its production line which give Chinese workers cancer and nerve damage.

Benzene and n-hexane have been a super cool feature in the final assembly of Apple's iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Mac computers. While the chemicals do not do fanboys any harm, they have nasty habit of killing the Chinese kids who make the shiny toys for rich westerners who have more money than sense.

The tech giant announced Wednesday that it is banning the use of benzene and n-hexane in the final assembly of all of its devices, according to The Associated Press. This is a change of heart from Jobs’ Mob. The outfit conducted a four-month investigation at 22 factories and concluded that they did not endanger any of the 500,000 workers at these plants. In fact, the chemicals were only found at four of the factories and Apple determined they with within normal safety levels.

However, five months ago activist groups China Labour Watch and Green America petitioned Apple to stop using the two chemicals. They cited benzene as being classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a risky carcinogen that can cause leukaemia and other blood disorders, and n-hexane as having been associated with nerve damage.

It seems that Apple has listened. It will still permit the substances in the early production phases of its devices, it's lowering the maximum amount allowed.

"This is doing everything we can think of to do to crack down on chemical exposures and to be responsive to concerns," Apple's vice president of environmental initiatives Lisa Jackson told The Associated Press. "We think it's really important that we show some leadership and really look toward the future by trying to use greener chemistries."